garrett376

I am glad I decided to install an LSD by means of removing the tranny so I could check this area out while I was at it. It never leaked anything noticeable but I would hate to be stranded at the track for something that's a pretty easy fix before it all goes to crap. Car is an 02 C2 track car with 94,000 miles on it that gets driven to and from race events, so reliability is helpful. Thought I'd add my data point to the internet world of IMS bearing case reports...

Macster

Here's a pic of a Boxster with a leaking RMS/IMS. As you can see it is very free of any dirt/dust. Course, with a leaking RMS generally these get taken to dealer promptly and do not have much time to accumulate dirt. I took mine in after just a few weeks after I first found oil stain under car. This is not a pic of my car. Do not know if this car a manual or Tip. This car was on the lift next to mine when I had mine in for RMS/IMS leak fix under warranty. The tech didn't have transmission out yet in my car and I never got to dealership again to take pics before car was ready to go.

In your car's case, there is a lot of dirt which suggests the flow is not very heavy at all and has been just barely damp with oil for a long long time. It does suggest a more benign cause vs. pending IMS failure.

That you track your car I would think the engine/IMS would go from good to bad pretty quickly *if* it was going go to go bad at all and the oil/dirt accumulation is not a sign of pending IMS failure.

But I can't say with any degree of authority one way or the other.

If you can do it, or pay to have someone do it, pulling IMS cover off (do it right cause you can screw up cam timing!) and checking condition of bearing seal and bearing and related hardware might be a good idea. Maybe even replacing the existing bearing with an aftermarket is a possibility.

Sincerely,

Macster.

jrgordonsenior

Ahh the infamous black hole. Easy to see how it could be mistaken for a RMS leak....

Now drop the motor a few inches and change that old AOS....